Should Princess Leia Be The Next Disney Princess? Have Your Say

Princess Leia of the Star Wars franchise could become an official princess for Disney, according to People magazine. But should she? In the wake of Carrie Fisher’s death, who famously played the character in the Star Wars galaxy, fans are signing a petition to officially make Princess Leia a Disney princess.

Fisher, whose most famous onscreen role is the character Princess Leia, died on December 27 after suffering from a heart attack. Her celebrity mother, Debbie Reynolds, couldn’t cope with the loss of her daughter and died the following day at the age of 84-years-old.

The news came as a shock not only to fans of Fisher and Reynolds but also to fans of the entire Star Wars universe. So fans launched a petition asking to make the actress’s iconic character Princess Leia a Disney princess.

That doesn’t sound like a crazy idea, especially given the fact that Disney now owns Lucasfilm, the company behind the Star Wars franchise. The petition states that after the tragic loss of Fisher, Disney should consider lifting its rule that an official Disney princess must be animated so that Princess Leia could become a huge part of the Disney world.

“This would be a wonderful way to remember Carrie and a welcoming to one of Disney’s new properties that is beloved by millions.”

The petition, which has so far been signed by over 55,000 people, also asks Disney to hold a full ceremony making Princess Leia the newest Disney princess as well as holding “a special service in memory of Carrie Fisher.”

Last week, Fisher’s family members held an intimate memorial at the actress’s Beverly Hills home to celebrate her life and achievements in the movie industry. The memorial included Fisher’s daughter Billie Lourd, her brother Todd, and several other family members, as well as movie stars Meryl Streep, Gwyneth Paltrow, Star Wars creator George Lucas, and many others.

The day after the memorial, the family members held a funeral service for Fisher’s mother, Reynolds. However, many of Fisher’s fans are not happy about the idea of turning Princess Leia into an official Disney princess, according to Vulture.

Fisher’s fans have several problems with the notion, but the main one is that the Disney Princess squad is pretty much just about marketing dolls to girls, something the late actress wouldn’t have been happy about.

Fisher was an outspoken feminist throughout the years of her career. After her iconic role of Princess Leia, the actress was praised for her looks, but nobody really said anything about how intelligent and smart she was.

Fisher urged people to look at her inner world rather than just focussing on her beautiful face. That means the idea to turn her iconic character Princess Leia into a cute doll wouldn’t exactly go in line with the late actress’s beliefs.

Earlier this month, reports surfaced that Fisher’s iconic Princess Leia was set to appear in next two installments of the Star Wars franchise, according to Business Insider. In fact, there are at least two key scenes planned for the character in Star Wars: Episode VIII, which hits theaters on December 15.

In the first pivotal scene in question, Princess Leia would reunite with Luke Skywalker, played by Mark Hamill. The second scene would show a confrontation between Fisher’s character and Kylo Ren, her son who killed Han Solo (played by Harrison Ford) in Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

Sources close to the franchise claim Princess Leia was set to have an even bigger role in Star Wars: Episode IX. A team of creators behind Star Wars is currently holding behind-the-doors consultations to discuss their options.

What do you think? Should Princess Leia become the next Disney princess? Would making Princess Leia a Disney princess be an effective way of paying respects to the late Carrie Fisher, or would it go against the feminist ideals that Fisher held so dearly? Vote here, and have your say in the comments below.